Strangers at the door. Guy I know - who is, shall we say, past middle age - was not feeling well last week. Tired, really. Needed a nap and, since he is more or less retired, planned to take one right after lunch.Unfortunately, a relative dropped by unannounced and insisted on settling in for an afternoon of chitchat, including plenty of personal questions. Just what he didn't need.To his credit, he told the relative to come back another time. The host's health and well-being took precedence over a visit from an ill-mannered guest.

U.S. Rep. Bill Posey is co-sponsoring legislation that would require Congress to wait 72 hours before taking up legislation. The newly introduced measure would give lawmakers and the public time to read the proposals, but would run counter to the last-minute negotiations that have figured prominently in congressional activity for generations. "It's disrespectful to the American people for Congress to ram through thousands of pages of legislation that no one has had the time to read or understand," said Posey, R-Rockledge, in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Bill Posey is co-sponsoring legislation that would require Congress to wait 72 hours before taking up legislation. The newly introduced measure would give lawmakers and the public time to read the proposals, but would run counter to the last-minute negotiations that have figured prominently in congressional activity for generations. "It's disrespectful to the American people for Congress to ram through thousands of pages of legislation that no one has had the time to read or understand," said Posey, R-Rockledge, in a statement.

Florida State President T.K. Wetherell told the Sentinel on Thursday that FSU will submit to the NCAA within "about a week or two" its final investigative report into academic fraud within the athletic department. Wetherell said the report will include 16 corrective measures Florida State will impose on itself regardless of what the NCAA rules. According to Wetherell, one of those corrective actions is for those athletes found guilty of academic fraud to be suspended for 30 percent of their games in their next athletic season.

''I watched Snoops once hoping it would be as good as Frank's Place. I was disappointed. I struggled through about 15 minutes each of Peaceable Kingdom, The Famous Teddy Z, Nutt House and Chicken Soup. What a waste of time. The best thing I am getting from this new TV season is more time to read professional journals and biographies of interesting people like Thomas Jefferson.''Gail Faucett LAKE MARY

I have found Jemele Hill to be a refreshing, knowledgeable and enjoyable columnist to read. After I finish reading one of her columns, I feel informed, pleased and glad that I took the time to read her column. She has covered some sensitive topics -- and done them with professionalism. As she grows in stature, I believe that she will become one of the best sports columnists at the paper. Jack Wajda

A television station broadcast a half-hour of silence to encourage families to read. Viewers who tuned to WLWT at 7 p.m. Friday for the syndicated program Inside Edition instead saw the message, ''Please take this time to read.'' There was no sound. The program was called Read Every Day System, or REDS, and preceded the telecast of a baseball game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Montreal Expos.

THOSE INCOMPETENT Volusia County employees should be disciplined for slipping that homestead exemption on our Seminole Circuit Judge Vernon Mize.A busy judge just doesn't have time to read that bold print and dollar figure on his tax notice. Of course he didn't know he was getting homestead exemptions on properties in two counties at the same time.It was wonderful of the Sentinel to pick up on that, or those Volusia County employees might have been doing it to him for years.Elda C. SmithGENEVA

The following paperback books might be of interest to those considering taking a sabbatical.- Time Out (Norton, $12.95) by Bonnie Miller Rubin. Rubin, who took eight months off from her job in 1985, offers a nuts-and-bolts guide to getting and taking a leave of absence. Her book includes practical information on traveling, taxes, alternative sources of income and fellowships.- Six Months Off (Morrow, $9.95) by Lamar Alexander. Alexander, the U.S. secretary of education, took his family to Australia for six months immediately following his tenure as governor of Tennessee.

The article about Bill Paul was very informative and beautifully written. Until I read your article, I didn't fully understand Mr. Paul's exhibit. Your explanation brought out the beauty and sensitivity that Mr. Paul based his art form on.Reading your article has been an education in itself. I learned a great deal from it, and I truly hope Chiles and Smith and numerous other people took the time to read and realize how very closed minded they are. They are really missing what life is all about.

The following is a true story: Sedarius Young is 9. He is homeless, living place to place with his mother and older sister. Despite this, Ivey Lane Elementary School allows him to stay enrolled as a student, where he excels in nearly every subject, viewing school as an escape from the conditions of his personal life. In 2005, Ivey Lane received its second consecutive F rating. A year later, the school boosted itself up to a C, thanks in part to the college volunteer writing program I'm a part of, spearheaded by my non-fiction professor at the University of Central Florida, Terry Ann Thaxton.

Reading the Orlando Sentinel Monday morning and sipping my morning tea, I came to the editorial page. I was so appalled when my eyes came across the cartoon by Don Wright of the Palm Beach Post. How can an educated person stoop to such low levels of ignorance as to disrespect other religions? Have we Americans become so insecure that we show little or no respect for other religions? Wright probably has never taken the time to read and study the Quran. Had he done so, he would know that the Quran glorifies Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Moses.

Mike (Bianchi, UF fans facing 10 more years of Spurrier, July 9), I think you're reading way too much into this [Steve] Spurrier thing. Sure, it makes a great story and all, but why do we Gators fans have to be conflicted? Spurrier did make the Gators something special, and then he got tired of it and left. I'm one who thought he shouldn't come back to [coach] Florida . . . not because I thought he only had a few years left, but because he'd done everything there was to do here. And for Spurrier, how great is it that he has a whole new challenge?

My fellow mothers and I barely have time to read the mail, let alone an out-of-town newspaper. But word of a recent New York Times news story zinged through our ranks like word of a divorce in the neighborhood. Under the headline "The Bank of Mom and Dad," Anna Bahney reported on a disturbing trend: Young adults, some in their 30s, are receiving regular stipends of thousands of dollars a year from their parents. The reason? Stalled wages, skyrocketing housing prices, student loans, delayed marriage and "young people [taking]

I get my news from many sources such as magazines, the Internet and several newspapers, one of which is the Orlando Sentinel. As a result, I am able to see the differences in content and style of my various sources. The Orlando Sentinel has a penchant to lean left in its presentation of the news, but nevertheless I find it to be somewhat balanced. I read Cal Thomas' Thursday column, "America idolized." I hope many of your readers took the time to read the column, as it was very uplifting to me, and I think it would be to all who are weary of hearing bad news from Iraq.

What better time to read "New Voices" than on New Year's Eve! Yanis Rock and Christian Tedrow's columns were very inspiring for a 55-year-old to read and appreciate. Both exuded ideals that should truly reflect each of our wishes for a lifetime, even if it begins Jan. 1, 2006, as a resolution. Rock's character based on personal accountability and Tedrow's ability to find God wherever and whoever you are are noble pursuits. The fact that both of these men are in their early 20s gives hope to one of the boomers who chose not to follow the hippie herd in the '60s and maintained his individuality.

What better time to read "New Voices" than on New Year's Eve! Yanis Rock and Christian Tedrow's columns were very inspiring for a 55-year-old to read and appreciate. Both exuded ideals that should truly reflect each of our wishes for a lifetime, even if it begins Jan. 1, 2006, as a resolution. Rock's character based on personal accountability and Tedrow's ability to find God wherever and whoever you are are noble pursuits. The fact that both of these men are in their early 20s gives hope to one of the boomers who chose not to follow the hippie herd in the '60s and maintained his individuality.

I hope that Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty had the time to read the Orlando Sentinel editorial page Tuesday morning. I don't agree with the Sentinel very often, but it got it right today. Crotty could take some pressure off Interstate 4 if he would get whoever runs the eastern beltway to offer some financial incentives for truckers to use the beltway as a bypass. It may be the long way around Orlando, but with the traffic it could well be the fastest way -- if the price was right. This does not require an expensive study.

I have found Jemele Hill to be a refreshing, knowledgeable and enjoyable columnist to read. After I finish reading one of her columns, I feel informed, pleased and glad that I took the time to read her column. She has covered some sensitive topics -- and done them with professionalism. As she grows in stature, I believe that she will become one of the best sports columnists at the paper. Jack Wajda

Timeout. That's what Congress needs before lawmakers vote on massive bills that materially affect the lives of their constituents. How can anyone be expected to plow through a 3,016-page spending bill -- as Congress did last week -- in less than 24 hours? It might benefit the party in power, which too often buries partisan goodies in the bowels of such bills. But it does little to control spending, instill public confidence in the legislative process, or encourage public debate. Democrats now want a two-thirds majority vote of the House to suspend three-day review rules for bills, instead of a simple majority.